THE PASTOR’S DESK NOVEMBER 2015

Romans.8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His divine purpose”

Roman chapter 8, in this chapter, the Apostle Paul makes three amazing statements.

Verse.1. “Therefore there is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus”. The key to this statement is “who are in Christ Jesus”. He is addressing those who are truly saved, committed and going forward with the Lord. Truly saved believers are NOT CONDEMNED! THEY WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED! THEY CANNOT BE CONDEMNED!

Verse.35. “WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?” His love towards us is so powerful that nothing or no one can ever take us out of the love of God. Love that paid the price for our salvation. The power of the Cross and the Blood of Christ cannot be overcome by any force upon the earth, or any schemes of the devil.

Take time and really think about these two verses, one at the beginning of Chapter.8, and the second almost at its conclusion. NO CONDEMNATION! NO SEPERATION!

Verse.28. Quoted above is the third powerful statement that Paul makes to encourage the Roman church and the believers. Personally I think the Apostle is not just giving them words of encourage. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit He is writes to them and from those who accompanied him on his missionary travels. Experience of their Christian walk since they had come to salvation through Jesus Christ, take particular note of the words he uses at the beginning of this verse.

“And WE KNOW” Written in the plural tense, so he is speaking not only of his own walk with the Lord, he also is quoting on behalf of fellow Christians and those they had encountered along the way. “WE KNOW” Their walk with and the faithfulness of the Lord had brought them through both good and bad times. You only know without any doubt if you have been exposed to difficulties and have overcome them by faith. “WE KNOW” IS ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE, there is nothing negative about this statement or which follows in the remainder of this verse.

“THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD” Christians need to understand this applies only to them, never to an unsaved person where John.3:16 is more applicable. Often we ask ourselves and God, “why or what is happening to me?” The answer is found in Isaiah.55:8-11, v.8. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,nor are your ways My ways” says the Lord.

It must have been very hard for Joseph to understand what was happening to him. However, God knew what He was doing and why! He was preparing Joseph for a destiny far beyond his ability to understand until he had been though many hard times. Genesis.50:20, When speaking to his brothers he says “But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is to this day, to save many people alive” Promotion to the position of second to Pharaoh in Egypt only came after Joseph had faced and overcome various trials of his faith all designed by God in the development of his character.

The Apostle Paul after his conversion also faced rejection, hardship in many ways, briefly described in 2.Corinthians.11:23-32.

“TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD” Basically means full commitment to the Lord, to accept and be obedient to His word as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you. To love God also means to love others as He loved you. John.3:16. When asked what is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus answered, Matthew.22:37-40. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” What this teaches us is that as we love God, the love we have to Him is reflected in an ability to love others as He loves us.

“TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.” Jesus called His disciples to follow Him. The purpose behind their call was to equip them to be witnesses of Him and to spread message of salvation to the world. The following verses 29-32, reveal the purpose of His calling upon us. “TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF HIS SON”

Conclusion:- What Romans.8:28 reveal is the focus is not upon any individual or isolated event in a believer’s life, but upon all things that happen during our lifetime as Christians. The verse does not tell us if we have an isolated setback, personally or within the family. We do not say “ALL THINGS WORK TO GETHER FOR GOOD”; we do not say this in the event either of a broken leg, or loss of a loved member of our family. What it does say that through all these various events or happenings, God weaves them together and uses them to produce and change our lives to become increasing more like Jesus.